Freya is absolutely in love with our two neighbor cats. One of them, Tillie, came to visit me I think every single day when I was pregnant. She slept on my planet-sized belly and waited for me on the garden wall when I went out. She's slightly hesitant about F's roaming hands, but is amazingly patient during the occasional grabs of her fur, and sneakily comes up and loves on Freya when she's not looking. Now, Tillie's sister (don't know her name) is coming 'round too and she's not so fearful of the bean. Yesterday, we were petting them in the yard and when we went inside Freya cried. Back out the door, happy as a clam. Then, this dog (and her human) that we know came walking by. I think it was almost too much for poor Freya's heart to bear.

_________________"Noooo! Karyn, you have to stop posting old Jensen pics. He looks way too smooth in those pics, like if I touch his face it'll feel like silk or bosoms or something."-mixmaster_moIt's Raining Kale

Need advice and maybe some google-fu. We are picking our cat (Earl Grey) up from quarantine tomorrow (YAY!). LittleMap is almost 7 months old, he is much larger than the cat and he is very strong. We haven't allowed the cat to sleep with us since LittleMap's birth, but we would like to have our family all together for sleeping as soon as it is safe. Before the birth of LittleMap, Earl slept on top of us, so I don't see why he would not also try to sleep on S. How long is cat-on-baby's-chest a suffocation risk? It must depend on weight of the cat, right? Our cat is less than 4kg. I cannot find ANY scientific information about cat-baby sleeping risk. The internet is "never ever let your cat sleep with your baby" or "my cat gave my baby CPR and saved baby's life". we are trying to parent as evidence-based as possible, so if anyone knows any scientific studies on this I would appreciate that much more than personal anecdotes :).

You might see what the cat actually does before worrying too much. Our cat steered really clear of the baby for a long time, and cats aren't the deepest of sleepers. Plus, by 7 months a baby is usually able to roll over pretty well, the SIDS risk has peaked and decreased.. i don't know, I wouldn't let the cat sleep on top of the baby but I would be surprised if that happens.

We've been letting Earl sleep with us. Problems are: when I'm nursing LittleMap, Earl keeps trying to get in the middle for cuddles, distracting LittleMap from efficient nursing. Earl does not avoid the baby, he rubs up against the baby all the time to try and get him to pet him (which LittleMap is thrilled to do! but we have to be vigilent against his overenthusiastically loving the cat). In bed this wakes LittleMap up and makes going to sleep more difficult. Earl also feels free to walk on top of all of us (including the baby) when he's going from one part of the bed to another. So, he hasn't tried to sleep ontop of LittleMap yet, but since he is treating LittleMap exactly like the adults in the family, I think he probably will try someday.